Steve Ballmer's Office is Equipped with an 80-inch Windows 8 Tablet and You Can't Have One

Steve Ballmer announces at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) that the next version of the Windows operating system will support System on a Chip (SoC) architectures to power the next generation of PCs and other devices, Las Vegas, Nev. Jan. 5, 2011.
( Microsoft / Mobile & Apps )

Microsoft is not playing around. The company is pushing Windows Phone 7 vigorously with the help of Nokia, and with Windows 8, it is aiming to change how we use and interact with our computers. However, there is something else going on in the Microsoft labs. How do you guys feel about a 80-inch Windows 8 tablet device? No, you didn't hear wrong. We did just say 80-inch, and guess what? Steve Ballmer has one stacked up in his office, CEO style.

Vice President of Microsoft, Frank Shaw told Wired.com what CEO Steve Ballmer is rocking in his office, and we bet he's envious. Shaw said, "It's his whiteboard, his e-mail machine, and it's a device we're going to sell."

The 80-inch tablet was first seen at the Consumer Electronic Show this year with the Sharp Aquos branding attached. However, the one Steve Ballmer has in his office is from a different company, though Shaw failed to tell which company is behind Mr. Ballmer's new toy.

Don't get your hopes up though. You probably won't be able to get your hands on of these bad boys. It will more than likely be offered to businesses only instead of being on a shelf somewhere in Wal-Mart. But according to Shaw, "It's not a consumer thing now, but we know historically that that's how all things start. The idea that there should be a screen that's not a computer, we'll laugh at that in two years.

"Every screen should be touch, every screen should be a computer and should be able to see out as well as see in. That is the way the world is heading [and] those screens are going to be big, small, wall-sized and desk-sized."

How cool would it be though, to have an 80-inch Windows 8 tablet sitting in your living room with full touchscreen capabilities? We're impressed, but not by much. This is because this monster is powered by an ARM CPU, similar to those found in smartphones. An 80-inch tablet where we can't have a game of Battlefield 3 is not our cup of tea. Make it x86 with Intel i7 Ivy Bridge inside and we'll be happy campers, or happy shooting campers, get it?